Among many things I did today, I took an impromptu trip to Laguna Gloria on Lake Austin. I’ll share some of the sculptures later, but I thought tonight I would share some of the plants. Enjoy the photo essay.
I uploaded 40 or so images to iNaturalist. That was fun! Most were trees and such.
Some identification may be wrong. I’ll fix them if I find out.
Hey there. It’s Weird Wednesday for me, but I wanted to share some cute photos I took of the hummingbirds migrating through our area right now. Beware of them if you are wearing floral perfume, because they will buzz right up to you and get in your face, as a coworker found out! The birds just LOVE Turk’s cap (because its nectar is extra sweet), so we always get a nice show this time of year at work.
I noticed we have at least three different types, but of course all my photos are of females, and who can tell what they are (answer: not me). But I saw the usual black-chinned ones, a couple of ruby-throated that only show up here during migration, and something very, very tiny, even for a hummingbird. That one was near my house, not at work.
Today I came up with the 7 of Swords. It’s typically a card about deceit or thievery, but when I looked at the card in this deck, I was reminded of the 8 of Pentacles, which depicts someone hard at work on a repetitive project. Immediately I thought of all those plans I’ve been making at my job, and how much work they will be, and I began to wonder if my boss and I are fooling ourselves to think we’ll get to do all this stuff, in a part of the company that’s being redirected and shifted around a lot lately (our turn has not come yet). Well, I’m not stressing on it. I’ll just deal with it.
Tomorrow I think I’ll go back to my beloved Robin Wood deck, just because it’s my buddy, and I can shuffle it. This DruidCraft one is pretty, but it’s too big for my stubby little fingers. Let’s just hope the Four of Cups doesn’t come back to haunt me from 2007. Speaking of which, here’s ME in 2007:
There will be more to report later, perhaps fun things, even.
For many years, I drew a daily tarot card and thought about what its imagery or the archetypes depicted in it meant to me, in the current moment. I did one yesterday, the Three of Swords, which is the “broken heart” card (a quick way to see it). In yesterday’s post, I wrote about how I really feel like the changing seasons meant time for me to end a chapter of pain, which has gone on for nine months (how long it takes to grow a baby!), and move on to see how it’s transformed me.
And then today, I got this one:
It’s the World or the Universe, or whatever your deck calls it. It’s the final card of the major arcana, and symbolizes the end of the Fool’s journey, where the Fool has learned all they need to move on to the next thing. Drawing this card was a nice confirmation that it is time to set aside some things and let them stew, and focus on new and maybe more productive areas.
I used to share a tarot blog with my husband, which went on for a few years (2006-10). I also would post my cards of the day on my personal Blogger blog, which is still out there if you want to know what I did from 2005-2011 (yeah, right).
I had some very interesting experiences, where I’d draw the same card over and over until I figured out some message my subconscious wanted me to know. For example:
The 4 of Swords kept telling me I was wounded and needed to take time off until I finally DID what it said. It lasted months! And earlier, the Hierophant kept popping up over and over until I got the heck out of an institution that was trying to drain the life out of me.
Continue reading “Why I Stopped Drawing a Daily Tarot Card, But Will Again”Honestly: Today I felt like I finally turned the corner that was supposed to come ten days ago. It may or may not be true that it has something to do with the autumnal equinox, when we celebrate harvesting what we’ve sown.
I had some wonderful conversations in real life and messaging today. All were with people I’ve listened to and supported in the past, but now they are supporting me. That’s a great harvest of kindness!
Still, I drew a tarot card today, and it was the same one I’ve been doodling lately: the three of swords.
Continue reading “Mabon Floral Abundance”Happy Autumnal Equinox! Welcome Mabon, the middle of the harvest season! Happy thoughts to Texas finally cooling off at some point in the future.
Today’s little tale has a sort of harvest theme, because it happened when I went to harvest eggs last night (make that egg, as there was just one).
I got a bunch of chicken food and spread it out, to much clucking and cooing. Then I went into the hen house to check for eggs and to see how Blackie, the one who got all broody and wouldn’t get off the nest, was doing.
Each day for the past few weeks, I’ve been having to reach under her and take out whatever eggs she had gathered to sit on. I would inevitably get pecked a couple of times for my impertinence.
Well, she wasn’t there. I’m so used to dead chickens, that I immediately got all sad that some dog or animal got her while she was defending her nonexistent chicks. Then I steeled my heart and said to myself that we tough ranch mamas are totally used to losses. It’s just part of life.
I turned to take my egg to the car, and low and behold, who came walking up, a bit thin, but perky? Blackie! She’s a tough old bird after all. I guess she got tired of all that sitting, or her hormones wore off, or something.
She was broody over a month, but she made it through. We will have to see if she starts laying again. Right now only 3 of the 7 are producing eggs.
I declare that Blackie rejoining chicken society is the start of things getting better around here. A new season, and new stuff to enjoy/deal with is on its way!
That’s right, I’m posting about calves again, even though hardly anyone has read the other post on calves (cattle drama is nowhere near as interesting as my personal drama I guess). And, to be honest, this is not drama if you live on a cattle ranch, but it’s fun if you’ve never been around them. So I’ll share my action shots.
The dogs went crazy, and I looked outside to see a mama cow and a very new baby trotting around. I then heard the unmistakable sound of a utility vehicle. A quick glance at the little tan calf told me what was up: it hadn’t been tagged yet.
One reason that the cows get checked on so often during calving season is that each newborn needs to be checked out quickly, to make sure everything is okay. The cattle owners also check to be sure there’s no cow in distress or anything like that, too.
Continue reading “Cattle Drama! Newborn Interventions!”We have so many wild morning glories, or tie vines, around the ranch. I’m sharing this article by a friend, because it has a fascinating photo of a flower with damage from the wings of a hummingbird. That is just so cool!
Suna
By Larry Kocian. Adopted from a Facebook post on Milam County Veggie and Plant Exchange, September 22, 2019.
Free from nature, these vines (also known as tie vine —Impomoea cordatotriloba) make an appearance in late spring, early summer. In mid- to late summer and into autumn, they are showy with their purple/lavender colors.
Some people say invasive. I say not, because they are easily controlled by going into the garden and removing/sculpting them. I let mine climb, and they do climb into the mimosa trees. I do control some when they wrap in the wrong place or too much on a particular plant/tree.
My point is that most natural occurring plants that are labeled invasive are not at all. I always encourage everyone who reads this to go outside and get to know…
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Yesterday, I’d been lamenting that all the mamas and babies in the cattle herd had been put right behind our house, but I never got to see the cute little spotted calf I’ve been enjoying since the day they were born (still don’t know male or female).
Today, though, I noticed that they were all in the back tank/pond, which still has a good amount of water in it, bathing and mooing. There was also a bonus creepy cow staring at me from within the willow trees. She looked menacing.
Continue reading “Do You Have a Favorite Calf? I Do.”Time for another look around our dry ranch.
You never know what you’ll find during a walk around the Hermits’ Rest. Even in this awful weather, there are fun things to discover. I found that out today, when I went over to get a photo of the little grouping of Zizotes milkweed I’d found recently. Lo and behold, the milkweed was doing its job!
Each plant had its own beautiful Queen butterfly caterpillar on it. They were merrily chomping away and waving their festive red antennae and spikes. I’ve seen a lot of Queens around this year, and I am happy to see that there will be quite a few more, if things work out well.
I took some pretty good photos, I think. (Aside: Lee just got one of the new iPhones with three cameras. I am looking forward to heading out into nature with it to see if I can get better close-ups and distance photos with it. However, I think I’m going to get myself a regular camera, too.)
I also saw more subtle beauty last night. After the Vrazels mowed our field, not much sticks up, since the grass is not growing while we are in drought. One plant is growing, and it’s the horsenettle. It’s a prickly thing, but it’s strong and tenacious, and I happen to think the flowers are beautiful.
In any case, the sight of all those little purple flowers sticking up above the dead grass pleased me very much. Sometimes you have to be prickly and strong to deal with what life throws at you. Physical beauty is just a happy bonus.
While I was admiring tenacity, I had to admit to myself that one of my least favorite garden weeds, the spotted surge, can be beautiful when allowed to flourish and grow. I’m just glad I don’t have to weed it and get all that milky stuff on me.
We have not had any dog issues since night before last. In fact, last night I sat on the back porch and watched the three younger dogs running and playing with toys for nearly an hour. Vlassic was happy as he’s ever been.
But then, last night, he was sleeping directly in front of my face, still reeking of dead mouse, so I got up and took care of some needs. When I came back, he was gone, and he never came back to bed. I found him outside in the morning. This is the first time in the over a year that I’ve had him when he didn’t sleep on me (or Lee or Anita).
That made me sad. But this morning, he was so glad to see me that he kept jumping into my hand as I tried to pet him. So, I bent down to give him some loving. Suddenly, I was off the ground. Alfred had ALSO wanted some loving, so he came between my legs. I laughed and laughed, all by myself.
Penney, Carlton, and Harvey have been swimming in the pond lately. It’s quite low, but still over Penney’s head, as she discovered yesterday. Vlassic still prefers his pool. At least it got rid of some of the mouse smell.
We’ve been having a bit of trouble with Carlton running off to visit the calves, still. He just loves them. The cows don’t mind much, so, we’ll just keep working on him coming when called from far away.
We sure enjoy these guys, even when they are challenging. Life it better with all their antics!
The Hermits' Rest 